A father and son were on Tuesday sentenced to a total of 85 years imprisonment for the murder of their relative Suresh Nandkishore called ‘Ravo’ whom they beat to death in 2015 over a land dispute at Handsome Tree Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.
Sukhdeo Dharamdat, 54, called Toney and his son, 25-year-old Eshwardat Dharamdat called ‘Bruddow’ were on trial before Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court.
Sukhdeo was sentenced to 65 years for the capital offence while his son was sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter.
The father and son were represented by Attorneys-at-law Pamela DaSantos, Brandon DaSantos and Alanna Lall while the State was represented by prosecutors Tuanna Hardy, Abigail Gibbs and Teriq Mohammed.
A probation report, which was revealed in court by Justice Singh, described Sukhdeo as a bully by neighbours and relatives, who explained that he was seeking to apply ownership for other people lands through unfair means.
In court, Sukhdeo maintained that he is the rightful owner of the plot of land, although the land court had given the Nandkishore family title of the land.
Justice Singh told Sukhdeo “you’re still hung up in your head that it is your land,” as he explained that the defendant showed no remorse or regret over the senseless killing.
Meanwhile, Eshwardat explained that he was unsatisfied with the verdict from the jury but expressed remorse.
“I believe that your father put you in a lot of stupidness” Justice Singh told Eshwardat as he explained that Sukhdeo was a bad influence in his life.
Justice Singh ordered that the time the duo spent on remand awaiting trial is deducted from their sentence.
According to reports, on the day in question, the now dead man, his father Bhopaul Nandkishore, and brother Parmanand were in the process of erecting a fence on a plot of land when a heated argument erupted between them and the Dharamdats.
Both parties are relatives but were not on speaking terms due to the land dispute.
The Dharamdats reportedly picked up two of the posts that were meant for the fence and began lashing the Nandkishores about their bodies.
Ravo had reportedly tried to walk away but was cornered and dealt several lashes to his head, causing his death.
